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FC Dallas players and coaches may be busy with a league game against Chivas USA this Fourth of July, but that doesn't keep them from reminiscing their favorite Independence Day traditions. Some of the players and head coach Schellas Hyndman shared their favorite holiday traditions and memories.

Kenny Cooper: "For me the Fourth of July game is one of my favorite memories of the day. It's always a special game here and there's always a great turnout and it's always a fun, festive night."

Zach Loyd: "I lived by the Verdigris River and we used to go there. They have a little carnival and rodeo and at the end of the night they have a firework show, so that's been my family's tradition since I was a little kid."

"Now the tradition's that my family comes here. Since I've been here we've gotten the Fourth of July game every year, so this has turned into the tradition. It's always awesome to play here on the Fourth."

London Woodberry: "I like to wear the most American outfit I can find. I've got some pants already planned out."

Kellyn Acosta: "I come out here to FC Dallas games and watch the fireworks afterwards."

Schellas Hyndman: "I think it's fantastic to have a home game on such an important date in our country. It's also a great opportunity to get a sellout crowd and to make it more of an event than a soccer game, whether it's the atmoshpere, whether it's the competition or the fireworks afterwards. We know we'll have fireworks after the game. We just hope those are celebrating a successful game."

"[Prior to joining FCD] We always enjoyed going to the mountains in Colorado and watching the Fireworks in Vale or Aspen when we could get away...Putting it all together, I'm glad to be here and playing in a soccer game."

FC Dallas will take on Chivas USA at 8 pm. A fireworks show will follow the game(MORE INFO).

FC Dallas recorded a thrilling 2-2 draw on the road against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday to close out a grueling month in which the team played only one MLS game at home. The team enters a much friendlier July in the top five of everyone’s power rankings.

FCD was on the receiving end of a month's worth of dubious calls, including what looked to be a goal by Blas Perez that was judged to have not crossed. Yet Dallas still found a way to escape Philly with a 2-2 draw thanks to Perez's equalizer.

Dallas was moments away from being robbed of a deserved draw before David Ferreira's blind flick found Blas Perez by the goalpost for the game-tying header in the club's 2-2 result with the Philadelphia Union. Dallas did not win in June, going 0-1-3, with late heroics providing single points in each of the last two matches. Rookie Walker Zimmerman did the honors against Sporting KC in the previous week and added his second career goal against the Union.

Blas Perez’s goal in stoppage time deprived the Union of a franchise-record third straight victory and gave FC Dallas its second straight tie. FCD came back twice to get the point; Walker Zimmerman’s second goal of the year matched an opening goal by Amobi Okugo, and Perez scored after Aaron Wheeler had restored the Union’s lead in the 87th minute.

So do we praise them for going on the road and gutting out a draw, or do we crush them for needing an insane amount of stoppage to do so despite a favorable matchup? Pretty sure we praise them – they were missing some big pieces, after all.

Collapsed in the second half in their U.S. Open Cup loss to Portland, but showed great heart to overcome a red card and questionable no-goal ruling to earn a late draw vs. the Philadelphia Union. Walker Zimmerman is looking good as a rookie centerback, while Raul Fernandez continues to state his case for a place on the MLS All-Star Team.

Another week, another white knuckle comeback. Blas Perez scored one in stoppage time that didn’t count. No matter … he scored another one, this one even deeper into injury time, and it counted as the equalizer in a 2-2 draw in Philadelphia.

Every year since FC Dallas Stadium opened back in 2005, July 4th has been one of the dates you circle on the calendar as a big night for FC Dallas. FCD has played at home for all eight July 4th weekend games since moving to Frisco with a 4-1-2 on fireworks night and there are so many things happening in and around the stadium on Thursday that we thought it'd be helpful to put all the info in one spot, so here's your official FC Dallas July 4th celebration guide!

FRISCO, Texas (Monday, July 1) – North Texas residents can catch the biggest fireworks show in the area Thursday night at FC Dallas Stadium following the team’s 8 p.m. match versus Chivas USA, presented by TXU Energy.

The first 5,000 people at FC Dallas Stadium will receive a rally towel from TXU Energy. There will also be a player autograph session (player to be determined) at 7:15 p.m., soccer tricks by the Futboleros and giveaways along the concourse, including drawstring backpacks.

U.S. Women’s National Team star Tobin Heath will serve as the pregame honorary scarfer of the Lamar Hunt Statue at 7:30 p.m.

For the fifth consecutive season, FC Dallas has teamed with the American Fallen Soldiers Project for a special halftime presentation. The AFSP was founded by artist Phil Taylor, who has created a special original portrait of a fallen soldier, which will be presented to the soldier’s family at halftime. Representatives from the AFSP will be collecting donations on the concourse during the game.

Limited tickets are still available with prices starting at $19. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 888.FCD.GOAL (323.4625), or purchase online through TicketMaster.com. Fans can also book a ticket and a ride to and from the game on the FCD Express bus program for $25. Visit FCDallas.com/fcdexpress for more information.

Frisco Freedom Fest

Starting at 4 p.m. Frisco Freedom Fest will be taking over Frisco Square for the 11th-straight year. Click here for all the info around Frisco Freedom Fest.

Russell Moore was our grand prize "Get In and Win" season ticket holder winner, getting a free trip to every United States home World Cup Qualifier. Here is his blog from last month's big 1-0 win over Honduras at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City!

Our third trip took us to Salt Lake City, Utah where we got to see USA take on Honduras. Once again the USA fans were loud and proud!

Our seats were behind the goal which gave us and excellent view when USA scored the only goal of the game to take the win over Honduras. The game Was fantastic. Honduras had many of their fans at the Ggme this time which made the game more exciting.

Our great seats gave us a really good view of the players and the field. USA Soccer is so exciting to watch, you get a chance to see all the great players take part in supporting their country.

Salt Lake City is really nice, there are many things to do there, and it was great to enjoy the USMNT with all of the other USA fans.

It's been a tough road for Richard Sanchez and Mexico in the 2013 Under-20 World Cup, but there was certainly a light at the end of the tunnel.

After losses to Greece and Paraguay left the Mexicans on the brink of elimination, they've clawed their way back to the knockout round by defeating Mali 4-1 today.

Sanchez, who has started all three games for Mexico, had another strong performance in goal and with the top four third-placed teams qualifying for the round of 16, the emphatic win has Mexico in on goal differential.

With three points and a +1 goal differential, Mexico is currently in second place out of the six third-placed teams and with only Uruguay and England able to top them, Mexico is guaranteed a spot in the knockout stage.

It's unknown who Mexico will play until tomorrow's final group stage games are played, but Mexico will play on either July 2 or July 3.

The FC Dallas under-16 academy headed into the final game of the USSDA playoffs needing a draw against RSL-AZ to advance to Finals Week. In a wild, back-and-forth battle, FC Dallas fell to their MLS rivals 6-3, ending the FC Dallas run in this year's playoffs.

In an indication of what was to come throughout the match, the goalfest started with RSL jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead. A pair of uncharacteristic defensive mistakes from FC Dallas resulted in Sebastian Saucedo sneaking in for two huge goals to open the match.

Real Salt Lake grabbed a third goal through a long-range shot in the 36th minute to stunningly take a 3-0 lead. Needing a spark before halftime, FC Dallas got it on a well worked corner that eventually found its way into the net through a scrum of players to send the teams to halftime with RSL up 3-1.

In the second half, RSL seemed to put the game out of reach finishing a rebound off a fantastic save from goalkeeper Estevan Vasquez to restore their three-goal lead.

The fightback from FCD began, however, with Patrick Khouri bundling in another set piece opportunity from FC Dallas with 20 minutes to play. Soon after Santi Agudelo headed in his fifth goal of playoffs week to pull FCD within a goal sparking wild celebrations.

As FC Dallas pushed for the goal that would take them through the group, Real Salt Lake hit the U-16s on the counter restoring their two-goal advantage. They would soon grab another as Sebastian Gordillo took down an RSL attacker in the box and as the last man back, Gordillo was shown a red card. The penalty kick was converted and FC Dallas fell to RSL 6-3 ending the season for both academy teams.

Despite falling at the final hurdle before Finals Week, both the U-18 & U-16 teams can hold their heads high as they finished at the top of the Frontier Division. They'll return to action for the 2013-2014 season with a new U-14 division in late September.

FRISCO, Texas - The FC Dallas under-18s needed to win by two goals to advance to finals week, but the home team only managed a 1-1 draw against Albertson SC.

The game was mainly a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to score for most of the match. Both teams had plenty of opportunities, but a combination of defense in front of the goal and strong performances from both goalkeepers made it a low-scoring affair.

Albertson had a couple of opportunities in the first, but two went wide and Dallas keeper Caleb Underwood saved another two. FCD also missed a chance in the closing minutes of the half when a shot hit the post, sending the game into halftime scoreless.

Needing to win by two goals to advance, FCD was forced to push forward leaving them exposed at the back. Albertson finally opened the scoring on a counterattack, giving them a 1-0 advantage with 30 minutes left in the game.

FC Dallas never quit and finally got a goal of their own, but with just seconds left in the match it wasn't enough and the 1-1 draw means the under-18s won't be advancing to Finals Week for a fourth straight year as they finished 1-1-1 in the group.

Under-16's lead group with one game remaining

As FC Dallas battled the Portland Timbers inside the stadium last night, the under-16s continued their solid playoffs run beating FC Delco 4-0 in their second USSDA playoff game.

Santiago Agudelo was the star again for FC Dallas scoring goals in the 15th and 28th minute to put FCD out to a quick 2-0 lead.

Coy Craft and Christian Ramirez added goals in the second half to give FCD the emphatic 4-0 win.

That win, coupled with RSL-AZ's 0-0 draw with Sockers FC, means that FC Dallas under-16s can advance to Finals Week for the first time since 2009 with a win or a draw against RSL-AZ on Friday. That game will be played at 11:00AM on field 7.